The present invention relates to door stops in general and more particularly to door stops of the type which are mounted onto a wall, usually at the baseboard.
Wall-mounted door stops of the known type protrude outwardly from the wall and can be a nuisance to those performing normal maintenance or household cores, such as vacuuming, sweeping or mopping the floor. These door stops are often struck by vacuum cleaners, brooms, mops and the like and can be broken, damaged or loosened from the wall. They can also cause damage to the cleaning devices and injury to persons as well.
Door stops employing a helical coil are also know in the art. These door stops are able to move or bend laterally when struck by an object, such as a vacuum cleaner, and then return to their normal position once the force of the impact has been removed. The problem with this type of door stop is that the coil springs back quickly to its normal position, only to be struck again by the cleaning device. This repeated activity can be annoying to maintenance personnel who are usually forced to maneuver carefully around the door stop in order to avoid striking it again.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an improved door stop of the type which is mounted to a wall.
Another object of the invention is to provide a wall-mounted door stop which is designed to swing out of the way when struck by an object, such as a vacuum cleaner or mop, and then automatically or manually returned to its normal position without damaging itself or the object.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a wall-mounted door stop which can be moved temporally by maintenance personnel to a non-operative position essentially parallel to the wall and held in this position until the maintenance operation has been completed.
The present invention provides a door stop comprising a first vertical member for mounting to the wall. A second horizontal member is affixed to and extends outwardly from the first member and acts as a pivot plate. A third elongated member is pivotally mounted at its inner end to the second member and extends outwardly at its outer end to a normal position substantially perpendicular to the wall for making contact with a swinging door. A means is associated with the second member for releaseably locking the third member in its normal position.
In use, the door stop remains in its normal position until the third elongated member is struck by an object, such as a vacuum cleaner or mop, for example. The impact releases the third member from its locked position and allows it to swing about its pivot point on the second member to an out-of-the-way position, such as one that is substantially parallel to the wall.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the second member or pivot plate is formed along its outer edge with an arcuately shaped cam surface. A cam follower is provided at the inner end of the third elongated member and is biased into contact with the cam surface by a spring. When the door stop is struck by an object, the third elongated member is caused to rotate or swing in a direction towards the wall with the cam follower traveling along the cam surface. The cam surface is designed such that as the third elongated member approaches the wall, the follower is forced inwardly by the cam surface, compressing the spring which in turn forces the elongated member to return to its normal position.
In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the second horizontal member or pivot plate is formed with a notch on its outer periphery at a location such that when the third elongated member is pivoted in a direction toward the wall, the cam follower will engage the notch and hold the third member in a locked position, such as one that is close to and substantially parallel to the wall. This operation can be performed manually or it can occur unintentionally when the door stop is struck by an object.